Cat behaviors/symptoms

Question
I have a fixed male cat of somewhat indeterminate age.  (He was adopted as an adult, but is at least 8 and I would guess older.)  Recently, he's started acting in a few really odd ways and I wonder if they're related.

He's always had a litter box aversion, preferring to pee on (not spray) various parts of my house.  (I used to think this was because of another fixed male we had, but we recently lost him, and the behavior hasn't changed.)  Lately, he's also taken to doing this strange howling-cry early in the mornings--a really eerie sound that carries all throughout the house.  He's completely mad for milk, wailing for it every time I open the refrigerator door, and his fur is starting to look thin and shabby.  Are these symptoms of renal failure?  Some other condition?  Or just old age?

Thanks.

Answer
Katie,
It is very hard to say what is going on with this old boy without seeing the cat himself.
He has multiple issues going on, some relating to poor house-training, (wetting all over the house) some related to possible dementia, (yowling is common in older cats) and some dietary (cats are lactose intolerant).

He could be coming down with hyperthyroidism, a common condition in older cats marked by unkempt coats, vocalizing and by storming the refrigerator. He is certainly showing some of these symptoms.

The only way to know for sure what is wrong is to get him in for a good check up including blood-work for kidney, liver and thyroid function. Ask the vet to limit the amount of tests according to what you can afford but these need to be checked for sure. A complete blood count will go along with that.

There is no way to know through here what is going on but the exam and blood-work will tell you for sure.

Until you get that done, nothing I say matters much. When you do find out what he has, please let me know. I can tell you this, he should be on a senior diet with no milk at all. Some cats can tolerate it if they have been on it forever but it is not good for his kidneys either.

So let me know what the vet finds and then we can talk diets.